Speculative Evolution Wiki:Competitions/Comp. 1: What is to be discovered/Hyleonyxae
The fossil record for bats is very incomplete, their fragile and small bodies easily damaged before fossilization. In particular, near nothing is known about their origins, and what is comes from observations of modern bats, and is theoretical. Therefore, one might not be surprised to find a group related to the great flying mammal, perhaps multiple groups. Such a group must have been small, and probably quite fragile, if not as much as their cousins. Having multiple groups would push origins well into the Cretaceous period. And if such small elusive creatures avoided the fossil record, and are designed in every way to be cryptic, who's to say these couldn't still be around? This is exactly the case of the Hyleonyxae. Name translates to "Forest claw"; Hyle=Forest, Onyx=Claw. Pronounced "hi-lee-ONYX-I-aa". Description They are generally small, no known individuals reaching over 80kg, and most often less then 75cm long. Coloration varies between species, thought its usually dull mixes of browns, greys, whites, and black. These colors are arranged in patterns of stripes and spots perhaps used in camouflage, or perhaps visual display and sexual selection. The exception to this is the Albino Gremlin, which entirely a light grey along with patches of white. They have a short, vaguely carnivoran-like face, with small, round ears, and a semi-long face. They have various assorted types of teeth, including two long fangs at the front of the mouth. A fairly short neck leads into a small body, from which a long tail, used for stability when jumping form tree to tree, attaches. Their hands sport two long fingers, ending with sharply curved claws, and three more modest ones, with longer claws; excellent for clambering among the branches. Their feet sport similar large, sharp claws for a similar purpose, thought these can be wielded as weapons in the right circumstances, cutting deep gashes in the flesh the attacker. Among mammals, they are in a fairly exclusive group: Bipeds. To accommodate the "odd" hand design, their legs have become strongly enough muscled to support the body, and the long tail is again helpful. Because of this, they have a adopted a rather odd position when sitting in trees somewhere in between the perching of birds and monkeys. Evolution The fossil record of these beasts is rather scrappy, thought material potentially or probably referable to the order goes back to the middle Cretaceous. Some Yixian formation and Cedar Mountain (And even erroneously Morrison and Chinle. These can be easily ignored as far more basal mammals outside eutheria.) has been occasionally referred to this group, but is more likely regarded as basal laurasiatheria incertae sedis. These forms are rather more generic and totally unlike the modern forms. The first definite member of the group is a small creature from the Huincul Formation of Argentina. It is incomplete, thought wrist bones and a complete leg strongly suggest it was a quadruped. Furthermore, its location in what appears to have been a small burrow indicates that this was their way of living, and that they were fairly unlike modern forms in niche. It isn't diagnostic, thought it almost certainly belonged to the Amerinychidae, a Late Cretaceous group which was commonplace across the Americas. All other Mesozoic forms are known from Africa, as well as the occasional potential bone from other gondwannan continents. If these are actually Hyleonyxans, then they seem to have been successful island hoppers, as they almost certainly appeared after Gondawanna had split. African forms don't fit in to any major groups. Palaeohyleonyx was first described as a basal Hyleonyxid, thought is almost certainly the most basal genus in the order.'' Nothomustela'' is common across northern Africa, and may have been present in Asia minor as well. It was a fairly large creature, at up to 1.8m long. One individual appears to be associated with a baby abelisaur femur, indicating it may have been a prominent predator of small dinosaurs. An undiagnostic skull from south Africa indicates a similar creature. The last genus, Eofelis, is the only one to be found on both sides of the boundry. A smaller creature, it about half the size of a modern house cat, and was originally described as a primitive Feliform. Hyleonyxae